The London Design Festival, now in its eighth year, announced the program for this year’s event, which is to be held from 18-26 September. As with 2009, Trafalgar Square will see yet another installation – this time a robotic installation named Outrace by German designers Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram. The creation will take the form of six massive industrial robotic arms from car designer and manufacturer Audi’s production line. Custom software developed by the designers will allow the public to temporarily control the installation and write texts in light traces drawn by the synchronized mechanical tentacles. These ‘light paintings’ will then be recorded and published online. See the renditions of the installation below.

Today is the last day of the London Design Festival. There were still a few fun and interesting designs that were not mentioned during the previous days, but here they are.

This Sound Chaser by Yuri Suzuki is a train-styled record player. Pieces of old vinyl records are assembled together to form a new track and can be played again. Of course it still may need to be refined a bit, but the concept does help generate renewed interest in vinyl records. The sounds of vinyl give a nostalgic feeling that no digital recording could ever emulate. Check out the video below.

There was also an abundance of colorful wallpaper this year at each of the exhibits. Anna Hill’s colorful wallpapers as seen below can truly brighten up any room. You may also place customized orders to fit your liking.

This slim square lighting by Lim Hyuntaik features 500 LED lights and aluminum and hi-tech glass. What is attractive about this piece is the soft glow that it gives to set

This washi table by Family Tree is made of the Japanese rice paper “washi” and with an American black walnut frame. Each table is finished entirely by hand in London and costs around £240 (or US$480).

Along with Designersblock and 100% Design, Tent London is another headliner event during the London Design Festival. The exhibition is held at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, which is known for its art and fashion student area along with its predominant Bangladeshi community and foods.

The exhibits are divided into a few major areas, but the most important ones are Circa (vintage), Content (contemporary) and Talent Zone (up-and-coming). My personal favorites were actually within the Talent Zone, so here they are:

This “ComplexCity project” by Lee Jang Sub at first sight was simply a complex pattern, perhaps to even represent a tree. Once I stepped closer I realized the designer created artwork out of maps of major cities around the world, starting with the city of his home country, Seoul. The pieces displayed at the show was made of paper, but other materials such as wood and textile are also used to make the wall decor.

The Japanese group Link also exhibited a few pieces of student design from the Tohoku University of Art and Design. The first is this vascular bundle cushion designed by Shinichiro Yamada. The sponge itself is quite weak on its own; however, when they are bundled together like the vascular bundles are in plants, a strong bond is created and a comfortable cushion is the result.

At first glance, the base of this puddle vase looks like it was made with glass or some other clear material; a second look then reveals that the base itself has already been covered in a thin sheet of water in a delicate fashion. A single stem of a flower on top of this vase can last for about a week. The vase is available in acrylic, wood, Japanese lacquer and aluminum.

Last (but certainly not least) is the debut collection by UK-based designer Caroline Swift. Her bone china bowls and tealights are all individually hand-sanded to give it the simple and contemporary look. The bone china spoons also come with delicate detail for a the table setting. These are currently available from her website. See below for details.